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16 | 11TH - 17TH MARCH 2016 | UTILITY WEEK Finance & Investment This week 2,400 jobs to go in Npower overhaul Parent firm RWE announces job cuts as part of a two-year recovery plan as losses approach £100m RWE has announced a major restructure of its UK business aer losing £154 million across Npower and its UK generation arm in 2015. Npower said it would make "extensive cost savings", includ- ing cutting 2,400 jobs, aer losses of £99 million in 2015, compared with a profit of £183 million the previous year. The supplier blamed its poor performance on intense competition, reduced sales and problems with its customer service and billing systems which began in 2013 – it lost nearly 7 per cent of its customer base, which dropped from 5.13 million in 2014 to 4.77 million by the end of 2015. The UK generation business also suffered, reporting losses of £55 million, attributed to low wholesale power prices and a £450 million asset write-down. It said cost controls and the sale of its Fawley site in Hampshire helped it perform better than in 2014. RWE has announced a two-year recovery plan for Npower, which will see the number of people employed directly or indirectly fall by 2,400 from 11,500 today. It said it would resolve the problems with its customer service and billings systems, use fewer systems and make sure bills were accurate and arrived on time. It would also bring in outside players to help deliver services. RWE Npower chief executive Paul Coffey said the results "show a business that tried to do too much, too soon while not focusing enough on the fundamentals". "Over the next two years we're fundamentally chang- ing how the company operates." TG WATER Wessex and Albion in housing venture Wessex Water has announced a joint venture with Albion Water, in which the incumbent will take a 51 per cent stake in the independent supplier. Wessex chief executive Colin Skellett, who will be chair of the JV, unveiled the agreement at the Water UK City Conference in London, saying: "There is tremendous pressure for new housing and through our part- nership with Albion Water we will be able to help ensure new developments are properly sup- ported." Albion chief executive Jerry Bryan said the JV will give his company the "financial and technical strength" to meet a growing demand for sustainable and resilient new housing. Albion Water is developing an ecosystem services approach to the provision of a range of community services, of which water supply and wastewater management are essential. ENERGY 'Spooked' investors want policy certainty The government must lay out "a credible, long-term vision for the future of the UK's energy system to calm the nerves of investors, according to a report from the Energy and Climate Change Committee (ECCC). The report said that policy changes over the summer of 2015 "took many stakeholders by sur- prise" and "raised serious ques- tions" about the government's plans for decarbonisation. Committee chair Angus MacNeil said: "This has spooked investors and le them wonder- ing 'what will be next?'" The immediate concern for the government, the report said, should be providing greater clarity on how existing policy mechanisms will be used. ENERGY Decc says reforms will 'rebalance' RHI The Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) has set out reforms to the domestic and non-domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI) to "maximise the contribution" they will make to the decarbonisation of heat. Decc said it expects its pro- posals to "rebalance" deploy- ment and spending in support of various technologies supported by the scheme. In November the government confirmed a continued budget for the RHI. It said it expects spending to rise from £430 mil- lion in 2015/16 to £1.15 billion in 2020/21, when Decc estimates the RHI will support 23 TWh of renewable heat generation. The government is intend- ing to introduce changes in two stages, the first in April 2016. Fawley sale bolstered performance in generation Stock watch EDF SHARE PRICE, 2 - 8 MARCH 2 Mar 3 Mar 4 Mar 7 Mar 8 Mar 10.8 10.6 10.4 10.2 9.8 10 EDF SHARE PRICE, MARCH 2015 - MARCH 2016 22 18 20 16 14 12 8 10 Mar 2015 Jun 2015 Sep 2015 Dec 2015 Mar 2016 EDF shares dropped sharply on Monday morning aer reports that the company's chief financial officer Thomas Piquemal had quit over a final investment decision for Hinkley Point C. Aer closing at €10.82 on Friday, shares plunged to €9.92 within the first few hours of trading on Monday, wiping more than 8 per cent from the company's value. At the time of going to press the shares had recovered somewhat, reaching €10.12.